Snow depth in the Swiss Alps > great season!

[fivat]

For the good mood, here are nice figures on 7th December!

Patrice Fivat

[evGen]

Patrice, I am very glad for you. And at us in Urals Mountains in Russia snows are not present in general.
Such there were no when for all 173 years of supervision over weather.
But we shall arrive to you on ECS 09 and we shall be also as you to be pleased to a snow.

[fivat]

And at us in Urals Mountains in Russia snows are not present in general.
Such there were no when for all 173 years of supervision over weather.

But we shall arrive to you on ECS 09 and we shall be also as you to be pleased to a snow.

Excellent! So we will have nice moments on the snow like last year. The ECS 08 was probably the best session ever, with 200 persons. I'm afraid that more than 200 riders would be too much. The slopes are destroyed too quickly!
See you soon!

Patrice Fivat

[evGen]

The slopes are destroyed too quickly!

It seems to me not the main thing in the given event.
I would note, first of all spirit Extremecarving.
The desire of people will learn it.
Good mood and simply excellent party.
Therefore we wait with not impatience of a meeting with you in Zinal.

[pokkis]

And those who are more after carves will come before session and stay after that to have nice prepared slopes in perfect condition

[Schneewurm]

Snow-high looks great on this tables, but be carefull with this grafics, they shows us not the real amount of snow!
Picture below (I was on testing some boards) was token today at lunchtime at 1400m, sunny-side of the hill, on a place where the grafics above shows us 20-50 cm snow-high!

But there is now a hope for more snow, exact at lift closing time, sky became cloudy and they forcast another 10-20 cm of fresh snow.

[evGen]

Give us a few snow, even 10 sm
Otherwise we bitterly cry.

[fivat]

Another picture which makes us all crazy!

The God of snow is living in the Alps this season!

Sorry for Ural and other areas...

Patrice Fivat

[Schneewurm]

Yesterday I did it also, two time for one full hour! You know, the thing everyone like to do it, one full hour, just only eject pollution of CO², nothing else just for going carving!

As fivat told us, there is now a sweet layer of snow in the alps of Europe. Some ski-areas are open now every day and all lifts are running. But now people don't like to go there, because they want do go on slopes only at christmas time on crowdy conditions, brobable they feel so lonely on nearly empty slopes! So I decided, after powder-snoboarding last weekend, to go for test and carve the last days (Monday/Tuesday) with some raceboards on slopes.
For doing that I choose a resort with wide and also some steep and best carving slopes, right behind the back-door of my car, where I can start and stop my carves (see first picture). Well I recognize, there are people they like very much more, to carry 5/6 boards up to the slopes, or they like to spend a lot of time to come down to the lower station for changing boards. I myself, I like more, to do the last carves on wide and nice slopes right behind my car (sure steeper part, for doing lazy-carving, was at least 60-80 meters away), open the back door and change the board, close the back door, step in, take speed and go ahead with carving down to the lift-entry - just only a one more efficiency and basic demand of any authentic snowboarders in Switzerland.

There where also some others hardbooters, about 3 to 4 on every lift on Monday, but only 1 carver for 2 lifts on Tuesday.

German prenium-carvers: Attention - housewife-carving:
At Tuesday one of the carvers was a pretty woman, about 50-55 Years old. She had some problems with comming out of Intec, the cable of hers back boot was rend. I offerd her a cable of my second boot out of my car, but she was anyway on the way back to home. She rode a Virus Thunder with F2 Titanium and a Raichle SB 324. Of course she knows where to let repair the broken cable, next to her, on a alpine snowboarding store.
Well, isn't that a cool woman? Instead of taking the credit card of the husband, going shopping any needles stuff, she goes carving on a nice sunny morning! And of course, she descent slopes very fluid and on high speed, even exact that slope shown on the second picture!
Probable the videos of German carvers (men) from Soelden in some Years will show us also such nice downhill carving with enhanced skill, like this woman did.

O.k. now about the raceboards: I recently rode some newer things, like them from F2, Goltes, Virus and so on (also this non-light-resistive things like Zylon or the metall sheet things from Virus, but not any boards comming out from Rolle).
I was very surpriced once again about many newer shapes can at time not reach the good ride performance, like some older ones do (someones are ways more poor, compared to older shapes, even to older midprice shapes). I don't name now the boards, because it's individual and people should compare the boards themself, try it out!

Well fivat anounced it. There is now Wednesday evening a plus of 35-40 cm of fresh snow on several parts of the alps - time for waiting next sunny slot for going again riding on deep powdersnow with my swallow!

[Felix]

Toooo much snow.

In Carinthia more than 1m of freshies in the valleys since yesterday. However most snow is at the south this year. Northern Austria has enough snow, but it could be much more......

Well next week I'm off for Freeriding. Probabely to Bovec in Slovenia. Gotta enjoy 2m of freshies with few to no other people...
The question is rather, will the roads not close down due to avalanche danger so one can still reach the snow?

[Schneewurm]

Boah Felix!
bloody 1 hour drive to ?
I thought this mountain is next to You! You travel by your privat airplane from Vienna to airport Bovec? (operatings on wintertime?) The mountain looks a kind of dangerous/steep (avalanches) - its cheap there for a daypass and lodge!
It seems then Kranjska Gora and Planica have now less snow (lower skiareas).

Do You have also some news from Brezovica (Kosovo), when will they open?
http://www.brezovica-ski.com

[Felix]

Well no its 3-4 hours car drive from my place. We might go by train though. Not sure yet.

The in my opinion only other interesting freeriding place in Slovenia is Vogel, but that is even worse for avalanches. But hey, Slovenians don't even know what an avalanche is until they are below, they are a bunch of crazy people not caring at all to my experience. Not even the Swedes are nearly as careless.

Bovec ain't expensive. Student daypass is 11€ (bloody price increase, 2 years ago it was 6€), and accomodation with half boards should go for 20€ easily. Kranjska Gora and Planica are not interesting for Freeride (nor anything else actually - they are for locals, like the Hirschenkogel and Stuhleck are for Viennese).

[Schneewurm]

They seem to be realy crazy. In Switzerland they are following warnings now: "Numerous medium sized and also large sized natural avalanches are anticipated. Exposed parts of transportation routes are at risk in most regions."

I thought You should travel anything about 4¼ hours, it depends where You are from Vienna and also which the conditions of streets/passes are now to go there. From me its too far away, o.k. by an army-jet its only a handfull minutes for the flight, but on terrestrial vehicle its very long - about 7½ hours.

It's realy cheap there, off-season (January) 6 days lift-ticket at Euro 87.- (when staying on local lodges)!